Saturday, October 31, 2015

UPDATE - November 2: The Archdiocese of Detroit has released a public news release on Anthony PerlasI've learned that an internal advisory has gone out to priests in the Archdiocese of Detroit about the activities of Anthony Perlas in the metro Detroit area, and his fake "Latin Mass Society" (not to be confused with the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales). I'm also hearing word is traveling among priests now in this area by phone and other means to make sure everyone is aware of the situation.His social media postings show that he has also been quite active in Ann Arbor, Jackson, Lansing and some other communities that would fall within the Lansing Diocese. He was previously in LA for a brief period and resided in North Carolina.

Many faces of Anthony Perlas

Anthony Raphael Perlas, who also refers to himself as Anthony "Tridentine," is a photographer who has an interest in photography of models, with an emphasis on young adult women and girls wearing chapel veils, holding rosaries, and other things that are are identified as Catholic. He mingles among communities who have a love for traditional expressions of Catholicism, having even been trained as an altar server by the Fraternal Society of Saint Peter (FSSP) in California during a brief period there (see disavowal statement below by Fr. James Fryar, FSSP below). He moved to Detroit at the end of March and is still residing in the area as of this writing.

He had served at some Masses in southeast Michigan, but from what I have heard, that has not happened in recent weeks. It is my understanding the local Juventutem chapter asked him not to return to any of their events back in September. Whether he may be serving at some parish in southeast Michigan, is unknown.

Perlas is operating a pseudo "catholic" photography service that involves a mix of semi-pro/pro models, and unsuspecting young adult Catholic woman and girls wearing chapel veils, or posing with items usually associated with Catholicism. On Facebook he refers to it as a "Modeling Agency - Catholic Church." He's not promoting Catholicism nor the Traditional Latin Mass, but himself and his interest, or fetish, in veiled women. He speaks of modesty while engaging in production of porn with those who do nude modeling. Among the models he uses, some are associated with Maxim and Model Mayhem - both known for sexualized photography and/or pornography. He himself uploaded female soft porn to one of his social media accounts, made public on October 10th, and followed up with portraits of fully clothed females wearing chapel veils in suggestive poses. The woman who is the "face" of Anthony's phony "Latin Mass Society" he names as Laura Bella Parry - a woman who says in an interview with South East Actors online:

"I do visit LA time to time to visit my fellow actors who made the leap and it is very tempting. I’m actually going out there this weekend to the Playboy Mansion Halloween party, which is always such a blast." (Can't find a date on that interview, but it was likely 2014 because it matches her Tweets at that time)

"Crown Maidens" and "Seal of Seratopia"

He refers to his female subjects - both the semi-pro/pro and unsuspecting Catholic women and girls as "crown maidens", "maidens" and likens them to the various choirs of angels. He has created what he calls the "Seal of Seratopia". He has several variations of these seals, adding Nazi swastikas in recent days. His most recent writings quote Hitler and defend him as a "great man". He has bleached his hair and has photos of a dagger, which I understand is a replica of one used by the SS. Variations of this logo have been used on everything from the pornography pictures to portraits of young children, and of course, his veiled young adult women and girls. The one on the right was cropped from one of the pornography photos.

Perlas has an oath that goes with this seal, which states, in part:

From Facebook screen shot taken Oct 31, 2015

There is a blog attached to his main website for Latin Mass Society and in a post entitled, "How to counter 'The Revolution' (Part III)", dated August 5, 2015 which lists "20 Commandments". Particularly disturbing is #13 and #20:

Screen capture, October 31, 2015

Anthony has collection of social media, and a website under the banner of "Latin Mass Society" (again, not to be confused with the fine society of the same name, in England and Wales). He also uses the name "Seroptics" for some of his accounts. Other names that may be used in social media include the Tridentine name. And still others, arfperlas. Please check to see if you are following his Latin Mass Society Facebook page. There were over 5500 people following it before word began to spread last week of his exploits. There are now under 4900 as of this writing. However, with Facebook algorithms, it's possible that you began following it early in the year, but no longer see posts. Check the pages you "Like" and consider unfollowing his Latin Mass Society page and his Latin Rosary Online page.

Why post on this? Is it detraction?

We should never divulge the immoral doings of another outside of those who have authority to deal with the matter. The exception is when there is a danger to others. Church authorities are just now coming to learn about it because people are contacting them about his visible online exploits.

I know a family duped in to using him for portraits of their 14 year old daughter, and under false pretenses where they believed the photographs would be used to promote the Latin Mass. He allegedly told them he was involved with a particular network on a documentary which was promoting the Latin Mass. On Facebook, he posted a selfie of himself with this girl pointing out she was home schooled her whole life. Two days later, she was featured in one of his online "postcards" with strange quotes attributed to her. This showed up in multiple social media accounts. Her mother was alerted by numerous people seeing it. She called and told him to take it down or she was coming after him with everything she had - an approach I suggest other people take with their own, or their child's photo exploited by him.

People have reached out to him going back to his time in California, and prior - priests and lay people. They are met with being blocked in social media, and hung up on if they call him. He has to want the help and if he is going to reject that help and continue with these activities, then he is no longer the primary concern - potential victims of his exploits are. That takes making people aware of what he is doing, what he looks like, and where he is operating.

I am very concerned for Anthony, but my first concern is for those who would get involved with him thinking he is a devout Catholic with a love for traditional expressions of the faith, especially minors.

Public Statement of Father James Fryar, FSSP

Last week, a statement by Father James Fryar, FSSP, in California, hit the public web. Fr. Fryar appears in some of the videos of online latin rosaries made earlier this year in web chats organized by Anthony.

Click to enlarge

Also, just the other day, Steve Skojec at One Peter Five, went public with his experience with Anthony in an online function. And, Father Z has also disavowed him. Perlas has all kinds of things suggesting he has the support of various organizations and people on his websites and social media. Someone may have pointed to some of his finer photographs, and some organizations may have accepted him for what he appeared, at least briefly. In most cases, you see no sustained relationship with these things he claims support him and his work. Some concerned Catholics have set up a "Latin Mass Society Hoax" page.

Make no mistake, when one encounters Anthony Perlas in person out of the blue at a parish function, or a young adult event for Catholics, or following Mass, outside an Adoration chapel, he comes across as a charming, devout Catholic who is enthusiastic about the faith and the Latin Mass. It doesn't take five minutes in perusing his website and Facebook page to see all sorts of red flags. This may not have been the case just a few months ago when the photos were more benign. In many cases, people may work with him and never check him out online. He likes to take selfies with people he meets. Don't do it.

I think Fr. Fryar makes an important point in his statement - don't make assumptions about the women and girls in the photos since we really don't know which ones are fully cooperating (from immodest and immoral modeling angencies) and those who think are looking for a simple portrait shoot, or under the guise of promoting the faith or Latin Mass.

Pray for Anthony Perlas

Anthony Perlas is using things Catholics hold sacred for evil ends. He clings to his own warped interpretation of Scripture and of Catholic teachings, such as Saint John Paul II's theology, popularly referred to as "theology of the body". Under his pornography pictures, he cites the late pontiff's teachings to justify uploading photos of female genitalia while also stating he's not objectifying women.

We are all sinners. Most of us have struggled with one teaching or another at times in our lives. We can probably all recall things in our past lives that were wrong, unclear, and misguided.

I know one thing for certain: Anthony Perlas is a child of God. No one should be referring to him as, "a demon," even if some of his exploits appear diabolically influenced. No human is an angel - not a good angel or a bad angel. There appear to be great complexities in his life - things a number of priests and men of good will have tried to reach out and help him with. Some of them are still waiting and hoping for him to take that step to talk to them, to get the help he needs, to make a full and authentic conversion. But it has to start with the closure of all websites and social media used to advance sexualized or pornographic content. This is true also of his accounts at places like Model Mayhem. He cannot possibly be taken seriously about Catholic conversion as long as he belongs to sites like that or keeps content online that is suggestive or pornographic. In fact, he would do well to take his photographic skills, which can be quite good, in another direction, away from these things which would be an occasion of sin for him.

If you have seen his writings, photography, videos, and connections, you'll understand the importance of heeding the suggestion of Jesus:

“This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” (Mk 9:29)

It's easy to love those whom we like; it takes acting on graces to love those whom we don't like, or who commit such overt offenses against God. If you love Anthony, you will offer penances and prayers for him, and have faith that with God, nothing is impossible.

So, let others know who might be vulnerable if he shows up at some parish, to not use his services, or to follow him in social media. But keep him in your prayers.

(This post has been updated for clarity)

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Monday, October 12, 2015

A baby's University of Michigan sports outfit hangs on a poll adjacent to the abortion mill as people pray under the banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a Crucifix

This past Saturday, Archbishop Vigneron led the Helpers of God's Precious Infants of Michigan in their fall prayer vigil. There were so many events going on Saturday here in metro Detroit for Catholics, I was pleasantly surprised with the turn out. I can't be certain but would estimate approximately 150-200 people were out there praying all decades of the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

It began with Mass at St. Joan of Arc in St. Clair Shores. I had recorded the homily on my iPhone to capture some excerpts, but it was too difficult to hear from the echo.

Then, a long procession worked it's way from St. Veronica's in Eastpointe down to famed 8 Mile Road, where they crossed over to the island dividing east and westbound traffic. It was a prayer vigil, not a protest, so there were just Rosaries - lots of them. It was a beautiful day, and even though these pictures were taken between 8:45 and 10:00 a.m., it was oddly dark as if it was around dawn. The position of the sun is different this year, and I found it difficult to get proper light.

We also have the relics of two saints in town: St. Sharbel (sometimes seen as, "Charbel"); and St. Maria Goretti.

Catholics don't worship saints; we venerate them, reflect on their virtues, and ask them to intercede for us, since they are with God. Saints have been venerated through their relics since the early Christians did so with the bodies and body parts of martyrs. There is some excellent background and information on why Catholics venerate relics at the Catholic Education Resource Center (CERC) site.

I don't have time to go into much detail on both saints, but I will provide some resources here.

Saint Maria Goretti

At the Saint Maria Goretti - Pilgrimage of Mercy website for the USA tour, you will find all kinds of information about her, and the tour. Click the calendar to see if she is coming to your area. For metro Detroit, I know there are stops at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, Ss Cyril & Methodius in Sterling Heights, St. Scholastica in Detroit, and an unnamed prison (a very touching gesture, given the story of profound conversion in the man responsible for the death of little Maria Goretti). Click the link and scroll to that calendar for details. It's this weekend.

One of the things I try to do when it comes to the saints, is not to compare myself to them, lest it seem an impossible mountain to climb. Look to the saints for their virtues - not just the most obvious. It's important to look at Maria's purity (and I recommend people struggling with any kind of sins of impurity to ask for her intercession in helping), but look deeper and you will find one of the greatest stories of mercy, forgiveness, and earthly redemption to learn from. You have to understand the transformation that took place in her attacker - Alessandro Serenelli to fully grasp it, and how Maria's mother came to embrace him on his road to redemption long after Maria's death. That earthly redemption likely ended with him being in heaven with her, which was her dying prayer. What can we learn from that? What can we learn from her mother's embrace of Alessandro, years later, as she embraced him like a son? How did that affect this wounded soul's path back to God? I discuss some of this in a post I made some years ago. If the links are bad, just google a title I might have given with regards to books or DVD's.

Saint Sharbel (Charbel)

I became familiar with this Maronite monastic when I stumbled upon a video with english subtitles of his life. It was a movie, which I discussed in this post about Saint Sharbel. I have embedded the YouTube video at the bottom of that post. I heartily recommend it and as I say in that post, if you like, "Into Great Silence" you will like this movie (if you don't mind subtitles and watching it on a tablet, smartphone, laptop or other streaming device.) I've developed quite an affection for him and have picked up a book or two on his life.

Anyway, St. Sharbel's relics are here in metro Detroit. I should have posted earlier because they are already here, on the west side at St. Rafka Maronite Church in Livonia. Follow this link to the parish website and you will see a flyer on the left. Click that and it takes you to a PDF. There is a full day tomorrow, Wednesday yet. So, if you live on that side of town, try to make it over there.

St. Sharbel's relics are coming to the east side this weekend and the events will be held at St. Matthias on 19 Mile Rd. It is the St. Sharbel parish community that was in Warren until they sold the property last year. As they await their new church to be built they are using facilities out in the general area of St. Matthias. The schedule for that is here. If that doesn't work, you can get it through the Saint Sharbel parish website.

I saw that Archbishop Vigneron will be the celebrant for Mass at 7:00 PM Friday (the current flyer says Divine Liturgy on one page and Mass on the other, so I'm not sure which it will be at that time - watch for updates).

Where Maria Goretti's life story compels me to learn about forgiveness and mercy, and to love those who cause me injury, St. Sharbel compels me to love being in the company of God throughout my day, doing whatever it is I must do. His asceticism, coupled with charity, inspire me to practice mortification for the love of God (Col 1:24) - even in very small ways. The children of Fatima learned this during their most young and tender years. I fail miserably at it so if I make it to St. Matthias, I'll be asking for the intercession of St. Sharbel on those kinds of things.

Look to the saints as your brothers and sisters. Talk to them as you would others here on earth. If I can ask you to join me in praying for some petition to God, why can't I ask them since they already see the Face of God.

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Sunday, October 4, 2015

There are two homilies embedded at GrottoCast in this post. If you have the free SoundCloud app on your tablet or smart phone, look for the labels for the week of September 27 and October 4th. The latter was actually delivered on October 3rd at the 4:00 p.m. Mass.

Visit GrottoCast.com for audio homilies from Assumption Grotto and more.

For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron

St. John of the Cross

Dark Night of the Soul (2.2:3)...

"...the devil causes many to believe in vain visionsand false prophecies; and strives to make them presumethat God and the saints are speaking with them; and they often trust their own fancy. And the devil is also accustomed, in this state, to fill them with presumption and pride, so that they become attracted by vanity and arrogance, and allow themselves to be seen engaging in outward acts which appear holy, such as raptures and other manifestations. Thus they become bold with God, and lose holy fear, which is the key and the custodian of all the virtues; and in some of these souls so many are the falsehoods and deceits which tend to multiply, and so inveterate do they grow, that it is very doubtful if such souls will return to the pure road of virtue and true spirituality."